I met Brina maybe two months ago at a house party. We instantly became "best friends at 'HeyClaire.'" Brina is the type of person that one gravitates towards instantly. Her joy fills up a room and her smile is contagious. Not only is she a truly beautiful person, but she also is a women of vision and purpose. ETHREEONE is a blog that Brina founded during her time at U of Vic as a Business student. The website is dedicated to empowering business women through fashion. Brina's vision for ETHREEONE is too the moon. She's definitely someone to keep your eye on.

J: What inspired you/motivated you to start your blog?B: It really is a long story and a combination of a series of events, but in short,ethreeone. was inspired by my love for fashion and showing women how to dressthemselves in outfits that provide confidence for the workplace. In addition, I have aheart for empowering women and young girls to pursue their career goals. e31.allows me to combine these two passions which is super exciting for me. In the launch post back in August of 2014, I explain more of the heart-beat behind the blog and why I wanted to start this adventure.

J: What has been your favorite part about starting the blog?B: By far, my favorite part about starting ethreeone. has been the collaboration process.Every other Monday, we feature a female student or career woman as #TodaysE31. These women differ in age, industries, majors and cities however, they all have a few things in common: they are fashion forward, business minded, passionate, goal orientated and most importantly, authentic. Evidently, I am a huge fan of e31. - not because I founded it- but because of all the women who have been involved and inspire me on a day to day basis. Getting to be the first person to read their motivating posts and see their beautiful photos is always such a privilege and it gets me so excited for when the rest of the world gets to read about these unbelievable women. I am always actively recruiting guest bloggers, but now that e31. has been around for 8 months, I’ve had childhood friends and complete strangers reach out to me to guest blog, which has been extremely exciting. The theme quote of e31. is by Anna Klein who said: “Clothes are not going to change the world. The women who wear them will.” This, I firmly believe.

Feel free to write me at bmartens@ethreeone.com for a potential collaboration!

J: What are your favorite tunes to listen to while you work?B: I am one of those weird people that HAS to have music on in the background while I work as the dead silence drives me crazy. I often don’t pay attention to what is playing as I really just need some background noise. However, I do have a studying playlist that is mainly comprised of slower songs by artists such as John Mayor, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Bethel and All Sons and Daughters.

J: If you could have any job for a year, what would it be and why?B: Wow, what a tough question! After visiting the Google Shanghai office this past December, I wouldn’t mind being a “Googler” (yes, that is what they call themselves) and work in their marketing or sales department. I’ve always wanted to be an expat and have a short stint over seas, but getting the chance to work in any of their offices would be unreal. I mean unlimited, free, gourmet food, dry-cleaning, massages, ‘bonding baby bucks’, pet care, and paid personal project time... need I say more? (And believe me you, there is plenty more as the employee benefits are endless).

J: What is one fact about you that not may people know?B: I was born in China and when I was adopted at the age of two, I “apparently” spoke Mandarin- even though I don’t have any recollection of it at all. As I grew up in a household of Caucasians who only spoke English, it was inevitable that I was going to lose my Mandarin. Because of this, my parents sent me to Chinese school for 11 years and I hated every second of it. I often skipped and went to the McDonald’s next door because that made me feel rebellious and one time, my friends and I took the number 3 bus downtown to China town and made it back by 4pm for when our parents picked us up. I mean drinking bubbletea and walking around Chinese shops is enough of a cultural experience, right?? Now that I am one semester away from graduating with a business degree, I am kicking myself for not paying attention all those Saturday afternoons. I truly believe that Mandarin is going to become the language of business and being fluent in it would be a huge asset to have. Now more than ever, I am determined to become bilingual and getting the opportunity to go to Asia to learn Mandarin would be ideal. Oh the irony... (yes mom and dad, you were right).

Brina and I got the opportunity to collaborate on a video for ETHREEONE. We spent two cold days shooting in a beautiful parkade this 'Staple Series' wardrobe - 20 different combinations of 12 different garments that are suitable in the workplace. It was an honour to create with Brina and I am so excited about what she's doing!